City Hall  
City of La Crosse, Wisconsin  
400 La Crosse Street  
La Crosse, WI 54601  
Meeting Minutes - Final  
Citizens Board of Review  
Thursday, May 14, 2026  
10:00 AM  
Council Chambers  
Initial 2-Hour Meeting  
Call to Order  
City Clerk Nikki Elsen (Board of Review secretary) called the meeting to order at 10:00  
a.m.  
Roll Call  
5 - Susan Dillenbeck, Scott Rada, Fred Giese, Paul Bagniefski,Heather Talbot  
Present:  
Confirmation of appropriate Board of Review and Open Meeting Notices  
City Clerk Elsen confirmed appropriate notices.  
Certification of Annual Review of the Code of Ethics  
Board members confirmed receipt and review of the Code of Ethics.  
Election of Chair and Vice Chair  
Bagniefski nominated Fred Giese to serve as chair. There were no other nominations.  
Unanimous consent to elect Fred Giese to serve as chair.  
Rada nominated Heather Talbot to serve as vice chair. There were no other  
nominations. Unanimous consent to elect Heather Talbot to serve as vice chair.  
Business:  
Verification of mandatory training requirement under Wis. Stat. sec. 70.46(4).  
1.  
City Clerk Elsen confirmed training requirements have been met. 2026 training was  
completed by members Heather Talbot and Fred Giese. The appropriate affidavit has  
been filed with the Department of Revenue.  
Assessor's Annual Assessment Report (AAR) and verification of Assessor's Affidavit.  
2.  
City Assessor Shannon Neumann provided an Annual Summary:  
The Assessment Office completed a city wide interim market update for the 2026  
assessment year. The last full revaluation establishing assessments at market value  
was conducted in 2025.  
The residential class contains 13,606 parcels and increased by $12,732,000.  
The commercial class contains 2,056 parcels and increased by $31,596,200.  
The average overall increase in property assessments was approximately 0.09%.  
Approximately 14.5% of residential properties received a change in assessment.  
Some of these changes occurred in areas where sales activity was out pacing other  
neighborhoods, where sales ratios indicated were lower than comparable properties,  
were reviewed and updated.  
Approximately 6.4% of commercial properties also received a change in assessment.  
A total of 2,128 change of assessment notices were mailed on April 22.  
________________________________________  
Building Permits:  
The assessment team measured, listed, and valued 464 permits issued in 2025. This  
was in addition to previous years’ building that had partial completions.  
________________________________________  
Sales Review for Arm’s Length Qualification:  
The Assessor’s Office physically reviews properties, collects data, and analyzes sale  
information annually to determine arm’s length qualification and monitor assessment  
accuracy. A total of 1,549 parcels were sold or transferred and reviewed in 2025.  
________________________________________  
Neighborhood Physical Revaluation:  
We post carded and physically reviewed the following neighborhoods:  
a. Bluffside South (533 parcels)  
b. Washburn (447 parcels)  
c. Highway 16 / County Road B (192 parcels)  
d. Mac Harley Lane Review (11 parcels)  
During the neighborhood revaluation, we captured the current condition of the  
properties and updated our records to accurately reflect each parcel as it exists today.  
________________________________________  
Exemption Requests (8 Total)  
Eight real estate property exemption requests were submitted. Of these:  
• Five requests were denied.  
• Two requests were approved for partial exemption.  
• One property — the former Franciscan Skemp Hospital — was partially assessed  
and placed back on the tax roll for the portion of the building no longer used for  
exempt purposes after being vacated.  
________________________________________  
Current Market for La Crosse County:  
The market is continuing to grow, and off-market listings are common, which means  
buyers working with agents are provided with access to exclusive opportunities that the  
public is unaware of due to pocket sales and inside information.  
Another reason inventory remains tight is high interest rates are making homeowners  
reluctant to sell their homes and lose the low interest rates they receive prior and at the  
height of the pandemic.  
On the seller’s side, demand remains strong despite higher mortgage rates.  
This seller-friendly environment is best leveraged through strategic pricing and  
preparation. Properly priced homes are attracting multiple offers and sellers are  
receiving an increase in cash sale offers. Cash sales come with none or limited  
contingencies meaning these transactions are less likely to fail.  
Data in La Crosse County Shows Inventory levels remain well below the balanced  
market benchmark of six months of available supply; inventory increased from 2.2 in  
2024 to 2.8 in 2025. These numbers indicate how many months it would take to sell off  
all the housing inventory on the market in a 6-month period. Please keep in mind that  
a 6-month supply of housing inventory on the market is considered a healthy balance.  
The days on the market in 2024 were 70 compared to 59 in 2025.  
Sales YTD in 2024 were 1306 compared to 1333 in 2025.  
The median sale price increased from $305,000 for 2024 to $315,000 in 2025.  
Market growth between 2024 and 2025 equates to 3.3% in La Crosse County.  
The trend for La Crosse County inventory supply over the past years as of December  
of each year has been:  
La Crosse County  
2022 2023 2024 2025  
Month’s Inventory 1.4 1.8 2.2 2.8  
Median Price $ 265,000 $ 280,000 $ 305,000 $ 315,000  
Days on Market 68 55 70 59  
YTD Sales 1518 1231 1306 1333  
________________________________________  
Receipt of Assessment Roll and Sworn Statement from the Clerk.  
City Clerk Elsen confirmed receipt of the assessment roll and Assessor's Affidavit.  
3.  
Review of Assessment Roll.  
4.  
5.  
Certification of error corrections by Assessor under Wis. Stat. sec. 70.43.  
Dillenbeck moved to approve the correction of errors and omitted property roll.  
Second by Bagniefski. The motion carried unanimously.  
6.  
Verification with Assessor that open book changes are included in the assessment  
roll.  
List of 46 unsigned amended Open Book Waivers the properties the assessment team  
reviewed and deemed the 2026 assessment warranted an adjustment. These waivers  
were either not returned with signatures or the property owners chose not to sign them,  
and I would recommend that the Board approve these amended assessments to reflect  
the 2026 assessment.  
Dillenbeck moved to approve the Open Book Changes 2026 including those  
unsigned. Second by Talbot. The motion carried unanimously.  
During first two hours, consideration of:  
7.  
Requests for Waiver of Board of Review Hearing and/or Request to Testify by  
Telephone or Sworn Statement 2026.  
26-0388  
Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust, 4622 Mormon Coulee Rd.  
Request for Waiver of Board of Review Hearing.  
Dillenbeck moved to approve Request for Waiver. Giese seconded.  
Dillenbeck requested to withdraw her motion, unanimous consent.  
Talbot moved to deny Request for Waiver. Bagniefski seconded. The motion  
carried unanimously.  
Request to Appear by Telephone.  
Bagniefski moved to deny the Request to Appear by Telephone. Talbot  
seconded. The motion carried 3-2 (Giese and Dillenbeck voted no)  
Review Notices of Intent to File Objections and scheduling of objection hearings.  
8.  
Notices of Intent to File Objections to Real Property Assessment 2026.  
26-0389  
26-0390  
Objections for to Real Property Assessment 2026.  
Hearings per the Schedule in File.  
5.14.2026 Lyon Joint Revocable Trust  
See Findings of Fact, Determinations and Decision attached to file.  
Adjournment  
Unanimous consent to adjourn to May 19, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.